PLAN  OF  NEW YORK AND   ITS  ENVIRONS
 

COMPARISON OF PUBLIC AND PRIVATE
PROVISION FOR RECREATION

FROM the diagram on page 33 it appears that many of the towns and cities
have made quite liberal provision for public recreation, as judged by the
open spaces, whether in proportion to total area or population. Outside
of the larger centers of population there is a great disparity between open spaces
and recreation facilities available to the public, and those established by golf
and country clubs for the exclusive use of their own members. This is distinctly
shown by the map on page 35. I twill be seen that the only large public recreation
spaces on the easterly side of the Hudson River are the Mohansic reservation in
Yorktown and the Bronx River Parkway. In Westchester County alone there
are at least 38 such clubs, holding 5,230 acres, some leased, but for the most
part owned, with a total estimated value of about $11,000,000. The number of
such clubs is constantly increasing. Attention has repeatedly been called to the
need of adopting a policy of acquiring strips or zones of vacant land outside
present populous areas, which would form breaks in the continuous outward
extension of the built-up areas. In the progress report of February 1, 1923
(see page 5), it was suggested that this might be accomplished by the acqui¬
sition of some of the properties occupied by the.se clubs, with intervening agri¬
cultural or wooded tracts, the clubs and the agricultural land being leased back
to the present owners or occupants, under long-time leases, for rentals which
would ineet the interest and amortization charges on the cost of the property,
thus insuring their reservation as open spaces with practically no additional
tax burden.
 

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